


No Rest for the Wicked (or for the Virtuous)

by orphan_account



Category: Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: M/M, PSTD nightmares, Panic Attack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:20:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26091025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: It’s a quiet night in New York City, with no villainous plans to foil or bad guys to punch out. But Tommy still can’t sleep, and David can’t sleep peacefully.
Relationships: David Alleyne/Tommy Shepherd
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	No Rest for the Wicked (or for the Virtuous)

Tommy Shepherd was a hopeless insomniac. He watched the clock hit 2:40 and listened to it softly tick in the darkness, normally he might just get up and run it off before passing out somewhere, but tonight he couldn’t imagine being any other place than David’s bed. So he stayed, waiting for sleep to come, but knowing it never might, especially with the way David was tossing and turning.   
Tommy studied the details of David’s room instead of counting sheep. The light blue walls, the poster that Tommy had put up with thumb tacks and David had complained they were never getting the security deposit back. His eyes landing on his favorite objects in David’s room; the four framed photos David keeps on his dresser. The first was David with his family at, what Tommy assumes was a wedding a long time ago, Kim is missing both her front teeth and David is swimming in his suit but they all are smiling and look so happy, the kind of picture that gave off “we eat dinner at the table” vibes. The next was of David with his school friends, Tommy thinks it might be a school photo since they’re all in uniforms, but they’re all smiling and seem relaxed. Nori has her head resting on David’s shoulder, so Tommy assumes it was taken while they were still together. The next was of their team, taken by a kind and patient waitress who served them breakfast after their New Year’s Eve party. Everyone is looking into the camera and smiling, except for David and Tommy who seem to be lost in a conversation at the far end of the table. The final one is of David and Tommy together, taken on one of their many weekend trips that Tommy loves to surprise David with. In the picture they’re at the Grand Canyon, cheek and cheek cheesing for the camera. Tommy had preferred the picture that had followed that wasn’t framed. When he had turned to give David a kiss on the cheek for a photo, and David had apparently had the same idea… it was their first kiss (... well, without the assistance of alcohol or inter dimensional demons at least)   
Tommy was ripped out of reminiscing though, as David let out a whine next to him. “David?” He asked in the dark, turning to see his partner’s face. His eyes were still closed, though in the darkness he could still make out that there was a grimace in his face. He tossed again, mumbling something under his breath that Tommy could quite make out. He was dreaming, Tommy realized, now watching David instead of the room, trying to figure out what David had said. Tommy could see the sweat beginning to drip from David’s forehead. As if on cue David repeated himself, much clearer this time.   
“don't get on the bus.” He said, and Tommy felt it like a cold chill up his spine.   
He knew what came next.   
“David?” He said, gently shaking him, hoping to pull him out of the nightmare before-  
“No,” David murmured, tossing again, “no, please,” Tommy sighed, realizing it was futile to try and wake him, resigning himself to back away from David and wait for him to wake himself up. It ached to watch him (quite literally) in his own personal hell, and unable to help or hold him, but Tommy knew that when David had a nightmare, it was only a matter of time until his tossing turned to thrashing- and Tommy didn’t want to get hurt, or worse David to hurt himself. But Tommy waited the agonizing minutes (minutes that felt like centuries) until David sat up with a gasp, his hands immediately flying up to his chest as he tried desperately to gasp for air.   
Tommy immediately jumped into action. “your okay David, it’s Tommy.” He said quietly, wiping David’s forehead with his hand.   
“Tommy,” David repeated shakily, teaching desperately for his hand in the dark, something to ground himself with.   
“Yeah, Tommy.” He said cupping David’s face and looking at him in the dark. David’s eyes were still glassy, his breathing raggedly and shaky, and in fact, he was still shaking. “It’s 2:53 on a Friday. It’s not raining right now, but it’s been raining most of the night. You are in your bedroom in our apartment in New York City. You’re safe.” Sometimes if he just started listing things, facts that David didn’t know (meaning facts of the what was happening in reality and not in his nightmares) it usually calms him enough to steady his breathing, but this time, David lets out a choked sob, his breathing still shaky and tears streaming down his face.   
Tommy can feel his own panic creeping in, suddenly feeling useless with his attempt at comforting failing. He wasn’t good like David was. He didn’t know the right thing to say or right thing to do, ever. Hell, sometimes David and Teddy had to explain to Tommy what he was feeling or why he was feeling it. He couldn’t panic, David shaking was bad enough, but if Tommy started shaking? He couldn’t think of what to do next to try next, and realized, maybe as cheesy as it was, maybe all he had to think was “What Would David Do?”  
Tommy was certainly no stranger to nightmares, and certainly David was no stranger to help Tommy through the emotional fallout. Tommy inched closer to David, wrapping his arms around him and trying to squeeze as tight as he felt was safe. David’s breathing hitched and he squirmed, but Tommy also knew that David could have broken his hold if he wanted to. “Hey, try to breathe with me David, okay?” He said, still squeezing him. David let out a choked noise and nodded his head. Tommy took a deep breath in and out. He could feel his own breathing steady after a couple deep breaths. David’s breathing began to slow down, and soon even but shaky breaths became regular breathing. After a couple minutes of sitting in the dark and just listening to David’s breathing, Tommy spoke again.   
“Are you feeling better now?” He asked, rubbing his back.   
“Much.” David sighed, “sorry for waking you up.”  
“Bold of you to assume I was asleep.” He chuckled, earning a small laugh from his boyfriend. “Do you want to talk about it?” He asked gently, squeezing his hand.  
“It was the same nightmare I always have.” He sighed. The nightmare always starts the same as an ordinary school day, until Scott comes in the room and tells them they’re going on a field trip and everyone needs to get on a bus, but David knows what happens to the bus. He always knows. He tries to convince everyone not to get on, to stay with him, but none of them can seem to hear him. He watches as the bus… blows up or gets shot up or crashes, it’s different every time. (Dreams don’t care about the facts of trauma, just the fear of it) But every time the ending is the same. He runs to the bus and gets on, only to find everyone dead. It’s not just the students who were on the actual bus though, the rest of the New Mutant Training squad is there, dead. David tries to find a pulse on each of them, but can’t, the dream changes when he gets to Josh. As he puts his hand on Josh’s neck, Josh’s eyes shoot open, and suddenly, David realizes, the bus is in the middle of Hell. When he looks back at Josh, that’s when suddenly he realizes he isn’t Josh anymore, he’s Belasco, that’s when David wakes up- as he feels his heart being ripped from his body again.  
Tommy looks at him, chewing on his lip. “Something was different though, wasn’t it?” He asked finally. David sighed, forgetting that he couldn’t hide from Tommy. Tommy could see the slight flinch that betrayed David, and knew what it meant (It was ironic almost, David knew everything and Tommy could notice anything.)   
“Yeah,” he said in a choked voice, “yeah, something was different.”  
“I was there, wasn’t I?” David didn’t respond, only sniffled in the darkness. They sat in silence for a while as Tommy absentmindedly rubbed David’s back.   
“He ripped your heart out.” David whispered finally, hoarsely. “I had to watch him rip-“ he took in a shaky breath and Tommy cupped David’s face in his hands and kissed his forehead. “I know it was just a dream… but still I-“ he looked around, and it was a little startling for Tommy to see David so broken up. David didn’t usually get bothered this much by a nightmare (once he was more lucid), and he definitely didn’t get tongue tied.   
“Hey it’s okay. I’m here now.” He said, “besides, Don’t you kind of need a heart to get it ripped out?”  
“Tommy!”  
“Oh come on, you know I was just trying to lighten the mood!” He chuckled, David shook his head, but Tommy could still see his smirk on the low light. “But seriously, I can promise you that would never happen- because if I were to ever even see Belasco, he’s gonna be nothing but mist on the wall before he even knows what hit him.” David sighed, putting his head against Tommy’s chest, Tommy laid back down, kissing the top of David’s head as he did, a yawn escaping him.   
“Finally tired, I see?” David murmured as he shut his eyes, listening to Tommy’s heartbeat from the safety of his chest.   
“Was this all just an elaborate scheme to tire me out?”   
“You caught me,” David chuckled. “Goodnight again,”   
“Goodnight,” Tommy yawned again. Despite Tommy’s sudden exhaustion, David was asleep on his chest within five minutes, exhausted from panic.   
Tommy listened to him snore softly against his chest and traced circles along David’s back, thinking about David’s panic over the idea of losing him. It made him feel… full. He hadn’t thought of other people worrying about him before. Of course he knew Teddy and Billy and Kate worried about him, but Tommy had never seen that look in David’s eyes, at least never for him. It made him feel… while a lot of things. But in the quiet of the night, with David asleep on his chest, he didn’t need help understanding what was behind it all.  
“I love you,” he said, as he closed his eyes and settled in to finally catch the sleep that eluded him.   
He couldn’t tell, but right as he entered that in between of conscious and dreams, it almost sounded like David said I love you too.

**Author's Note:**

> Seems I’m on a Thinkfast kick. (Also... this could be interpreted as a continuation of Slow Down, Crazy Child.... it wasn’t intended as such but I realized this could theoretically pick up where it left off)


End file.
